by Peter Carlson | Jan 7, 2016 | Listen to Dharma Talks
It is customary in this sangha to provide those members who have completed a significant retreat the opportunity to process the experience during a regular meeting. Peter annually experiences a two week self-retreat, this one lasting from December 18 until January 1, 2016. He described the retreat schedule he established and reviewed a book he used to further his insight practices: “The Mind Illuminated-A Complete Meditation Guide”. The book analyzes the Anapanasati Sutta, the discourse on Mindfulness of Breathing, a classic teaching from the Pali Canon, from the perspective of neuroscientific and systems theory research. It describes 10 stages of enhanced mental stability and introspective investigation, leading towards experiences of awakening from what are termed the “three poisons”: greed, aversion and ignorance/self-delusion. Peter described how passages from the book enhanced his vipassana practice. Even though this recording is longer than most, the information has the potential to significantly increase insights into the process of awakening.
Here are the notes Peter prepared for the talk: Peter’s 2015 year end retreat
by Peter Carlson | Dec 17, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this talk, Peter reviewed 3 lojong mind training commitments: “Don’t revert to magic”, “Don’t reduce a god to a demon”, and “Don’t seek pain as a component of happiness”. The common theme of these three commitments is to be mindful of mental rigidity, which produces “magical thinking” (Misperceiving one’s beliefs to be “things”, that is, accurate personality defining characteristics). This consequence of craving and clinging can create a rigid, doctrinaire, “holier than thou” approach to life, comparing and judging others harshly for their beliefs. This rigidity can manifest as a punitive approach to life, that is, relishing the suffering of others.
The review was followed by discussion by various persons attending regarding how this rigidity is experienced and what aspects of the Four Noble Truth can bring resolution to the rigidity and harshness.
This review is the last focused on the commitments of lojong mind training. Peter will be on a two-week self retreat over the holidays. The first meeting in January will review the retreat process he experienced. The following meeting will summarize the lojong mind training with a review of the remaining aphorisms, which emphasize the importance of various elements of the lojong mind training system.
Here are the notes prepared for this discussion: AVOIDING MENTAL RIGIDITY AND HARSHNESS
by Peter Carlson | Dec 3, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this talk, the lojong commitment “Don’t Put A Horse’s Load On A Donkey” was reviewed. The emphasis of the commitment is to avoid idealizing expectations of self or others, that is, to avoid perfectionism. One of the benefits of being relieved of the stress and confusion of the five hindrances is the release of energy into the process of awareness. This can manifest as overreaching one’s capabilities, or displacing responsibility on others, thereby expecting too much of their capabilities. This leads to contempt and a feeling of disconnection from self and others. A goal of this practice is to become clearly aware of how self-organization either leads to clarity or to confusion, and eventually understanding how to release the “hardened” expectations that result from craving and clinging.
Here are the notes for the discussion: MANAGING THE BURDEN OF RESPONSIBILITY
Here is the worksheet provided for those attending the meeting: Relationship Responsibility Worksheet
by Peter Carlson | Nov 19, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
This discussion began with a quote from the Upaddha Sutta: “…Admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie is actually the whole of the holy life…” because the emphasis for this week focuses on the lojong commitments regarding interpersonal responsibility. Three commitments were described: “Don’t indulge in malicious speech or sarcasm”, “Revenge is not sweet, but toxic”, and “Don’t throw your pain at others”. These commitments were modified by Peter to be more applicable to contemporary relationships from a Buddhist perspective on Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood.
After the explanation, participants offered their observations regarding how these principles bring benefit to relationships. Here are the notes prepared for this talk: RESPONSIBILITY IN RELATIONSHIPS
Next week’s regular meeting will occur on Thanksgiving Eve, so following the routine for at number of years, the discussion will be organized around the benefits of gratitude for daily living.
by Peter Carlson | Nov 5, 2015 | Listen to Dharma Talks
During this evening’s discussion, modern neuroscientific research was reviewed which suggests that activated neural pathways become more richly connected when “fed” by increased blood flow. When unwholesome self-organizations are repeatedly enacted, the result is toxic. A distinction was emphasized regarding external and internal “ego food”, that is, how modern entertainment and distractions provide external stimulation, while internal processes are either enhanced or depleted in their power by the amount of attention given to them in the mind. Peter read the excerpt from the Four Foundations of Mindfulness discourse that describes being aware of the transitory nature of self-organizations (fourth foundation, regarding the arising and passing of the five aggregates of clinging). These principles support the awareness qualities found in the lojong mind training commitments.
This review was followed by a lively discussion regarding the prevalence of external “junk food media” and how being mindful of how the internal processing of the stimulation can be used to practice tonglen, that is, the ability to transform internal processes with compassion.
Here are the notes prepared for this talk: BENEVOLENT EGO FOOD
Next week’s discussion will focus on the lojong aphorism “Don’t rely on consistency.”